100,000 Poets for Change, a project aimed to promote serious social, environmental, and political change by a demonstration and celebration of poetry, initiated worldwide poetry action on September 24th. In 95 countries 700 events take place in 550 cities.

Both lyrikline.org and 100,000 Poets for Change are part of the newly founded World Poetry Movement. This is why we join September 24th as a day of poetry around the globe. Heiko Strunk, project manager of lyrikline.org, together with our Swedish lyrikline.org partner Rámus, will present lyrikline.org and a selection of great poetry short films on the Gothenburg Book Fair in Sweden. Poets Marie Silkeberg and Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl who both worked in poetry film, will be reading at the event.

Moreover, for September 24th 2011, we published 10 outstanding new poets from 9 countries around the world on lyrikline.org:

The World Poetry Movement was founded in the context of the World Gathering of Directors from 37 International Poetry Festivals, held in Medellin, Colombia, between April and July 8th, 2011. There they discussed the connection between poetry and peace, the reconstruction of the human spirit, the reconciliation and recovery of nature, the unity and cultural diversity of peoples, material poverty and poetic justice, and possible actions to take in favor of the globalization of poetry.

A month later, the World Poetry Movement has been joined by 81 international poetry festivals and 411 poets from 89 countries from all continents.
One of the goals is to include most of the strongest international poetry festivals, poets, schools of poetry and printed and virtual publications, to increase our mutual cooperation and thus energize the individual and collective voice of poetry in our time.

Recently the World Poetry Movement has been joined by the 100,000 Poets for Change project, a bold initiative by poets Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carrión, in California, who have proposed the implementation of a worldwide poetic action, next September 24th, 2011 in 350 cities worldwide.
Due to the nature of poetry, the World Poetry Movement supports and will always support the thoughts, actions and measures that can contribute to world peace, the defense of all life on earth, the sustainable development of a new world, the restoration of beauty, dignity and truth, in the process of a persistent strengthening of poetry’s presence in contemporary society worldwide.

Poetry is knowledge, reflection and enlightenment, liberation, contemplation and action, lightning, creative imagination and brotherhood, spiritual unity of individuals and peoples, past, present and future of humanity.World Poetic Movement calls on all its members, poets and international poetry festivals, to plan, develop and spread poetic actions and Simultaneous poetry readings, across the planet, next September 24th, 2011, to consolidate our organizational process, making a formidable display of poetic power possible in the world, in hundreds of cities and villages on Earth.
We ask you to please inform us shortly on the decisions taken regarding this proposal to the following email: worldpoetrymovement@gmail.com

At the 21º Medellin Poetry Festival, directors of 37 Poetry Festivals worldwide have conducted a 5-day meeting on the status of poetry and poetry festivals across the world, analyzing and discussing human concerns and issues regarding difficulties and achievements as part of local organizations promoting poetry in each of our cities and countries.

The first sessions discussed the relationship between poetry and peace and reconstruction of the human spirit, nature reconciliation and recovery, unity and cultural diversity of the peoples, material misery and poetic justice, and actions to take towards the globalization of poetry.

Participants decided to establish the World Poetry Movement, whose main purpose would be to increase cooperation between poetry festivals, thus strengthening our collective voice.

The World Poetry Movement recognizes that:

Poetryprovides meaningful insights into the human condition.

Contrary to the idea that languages divide the world, it is precisely the diversity of languages that enriches poetry festivals.

The World Poetry Movement will strengthen each festival in their local and global approach to their challenges and concerns.

The exceptional connection with the public evidenced in the Medellin Poetry Festivalhighlights the value ofpoetry reachingpeople.

Main objectives of the World Poetry Movement are:

That all poets, poetry initiatives and organizations are invited to join the World Poetry Movement.

To promote the growth of poetry festivals across the world in all their diversity.

To enhance communication between poetry festivals and poetry organizations.

To promote the development of poetry schools and poetry initiatives.

To explore audience development initiatives to broaden publics and access to poetry.

To address issues such as publishing, translation and the general concerns of poets worldwide.

This movement begins a significant process that goes beyond individual concerns and creates exciting possibilities for poets and poetry events worldwide – we stand with humility and care for the birth of this new project.